Favorite Ways with Summer Stone Fruits

Take apricots in a savory direction with mustard seeds, cilantro, and a little chile.

Recipe: Chilled Poached Halibut with Fresh Apricot Salsa

Oozy, mild melted cheese pairs beautifully with the sweet and tangy fruit.

Recipe: Grilled Fresh Mozzarella and Apricot on Sourdough

Wrap the fruit and seafood in prosciutto, add simple seasonings, and grill.

Recipe: Apricot Shrimp Skewers

Top ripe Blenheim apricots with an easy spiced oat and nut streusel.

Recipe: Fresh Apricot Crisp

The apricots and brown sugar caramelize in a grill-top skillet as they would on a stove. Using a muffin pan produces puffs that look like mini Dutch babies.

Recipe: Grilled Apricot Puffs with Honey Crème Fraîche

A rustic cream cheese and spiced orange crust goes over lots of fresh fruit.

Recipe: Apricot Patty-cake Cobbler

Wow guests at your next barbecue with vegetarian kebabs of juicy peaches and the Indian cheese called paneer, marinated in yogurt and spices. (Though not traditional, tofu subs in beautifully for the paneer.) Chaat masala spice blend adds a tangy, smoky, intriguingly sulfurous flavor, but the dish is great without it too.

Recipe: Paneer Tikka, Peach, and Mint Skewers

Unlike grocery store chutney, which can be quite sweet and one-dimensional, this sauce cooks up tangy, fruity, spicy, and bold. Serve it with samosas, spoon it onto bruschetta or a cheese plate, or smear it in a turkey sandwich.

Recipe: Peach Chutney

These luscious spiced trifles are just about the most indulgent summer dessert.

Recipe: Poached Peach Trifles

This recipe works best with the sweet, juicy peaches you dream about all year.

Recipe: Peach and Bourbon Cobbler with Almond Spoon Cake

Flecks of thyme give the crust of this tart a savory spark. It brings out the lush juiciness of the peaches.

Recipe: Brown Sugar Peach and Thyme Tart

Jennifer Jasinski, chef and co-owner of Rioja in Denver, makes her salad with fresh Colorado peaches and a Spanish blue cheese, but it’s also good made with many Western blue cheeses.

Recipe: Grilled Peach Salad with Rosemary Dressing

Make this pie with Sunset’s Favorite Pie Pastry, or use refrigerated pastry.

Recipe: Rock Creek Lake Fresh Peach Pie

When you want to enjoy fresh summer peaches all winter long, try canning them.

Recipe: Spiced Peaches

Sweetened condensed milk is the secret ingredient in this special ice cream.

Recipe: Easy Dreamy Peachy Ice Cream

Peppercorns play up the plums’ natural spiciness without adding too much heat.

Recipe: Spiced Plum Jam

You don’t have to peel the nectarines and pluots, a shortcut you’ll appreciate when you just can’t wait to savor this treat.

Recipe: Stone Fruit Cobbler with Almond Spoon Cake

Try this last-minute dessert with a pound cake you pick up from the store.

Recipe: Sautéed Peaches over Pound Cake

This sweet and delicately spicy summer salad would be an excellent accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish.

Recipe: Arugula Salad with White Nectarines and Mango Chutney Dressing

Made with white nectarines, this savory-sweet Caprese just might trump the classic version. Burrata cheese adds richness, but feel free to sub in fresh mozzarella.

Recipe: Nectarine Caprese Salad

You couldn’t ask for a better partner for lamb’s mildly earthy flavor than nectarines, used here in a quick jam and sizzled on the grill. Choose fruit with red-tinged flesh for an especially pretty presentation. 

Recipe: Grilled Lamb Chops with Nectarine Thyme Jam

Stripes of plums, apricots, and raspberries give you 3 summer fruits in one treat.

Recipe: Layered Fruitsicles

Think of this as “new and improved” borscht, with fruit and mint added for freshness and subtle spices for intrigue. If you like, roast extra beets to eat later in the week; they keep several days in the refrigerator.

Recipe: Plum and Beet Soup with Spiced Yogurt Swirl

We used a variety of seeds, plus nuts and coconut, to make the irresistible topping on this crisp.

Recipe: Raspberry Pluot Crisp with Coconut Streusel

This easy dessert starts with frozen puff pastry.

Recipe: Pluot Tart

Subtle seasonings and a full, plummy flavor make this jam one of our all-time Test Kitchen favorites. You’ll need cheesecloth as well as half-pint canning jars. This recipe can be either refrigerated for a month or canned and kept for up to a year.

Recipe: Spiced Pluot Jam

Baking this buttery cake in a big, shallow tart pan ensures that the cake doesn’t get soggy, even as the fruit slices remain juicy. For the best texture, make and serve it on the same day.

Recipe: Apricot and Pluot Mosaic Cake

A delightful spin on a parfait that’ll dazzle summer party guests.

Recipe: Pluots with Yogurt and Cookie Crumble

Substitute fresh Rainiers in recipes that call for dried cherries. Spinach salad gets a whole new life that way.

Recipe: Cherry and Bacon Spinach Salad

The cherries’ bursts of sweet juice offset the richness of the pasta.

Recipe: Cherry Brown Butter Ravioli

We couldn’t get enough of this sundae. Every layer has a sweet, tart cherry flavor and decadent chocolatiness. (The brownies are great on their own too, and work well for picnics.)

Recipe: Triple Cherry Chocolate Brownie Sundaes

After fresh cherry season is over, you can keep making this with frozen fruit.

Recipe: Cherry Sherbet

An indulgent recipe for a special summer brunch.

Recipe: Chocolate Waffles with Poached Cherries

Rainiers are stunning in cocktails in place of fluorescent maraschinos (and are great on ice cream too). They’ll start to darken after a month, but will taste even better.

Recipe: Brandied Cherries

Salty feta plays off cherries’ tart sweetness in this salad. Instead of crumbling the cheese, we coated balls with crunchy almonds for more texture and a nicer look.

Recipe: Mixed Greens with Cherries and Feta Cheese Balls

This dessert is great for backyard barbecues: Make everything ahead, then quickly assemble and serve. The cake is denser and more buttery than classic shortcake.

Recipe: Giant Cherry Shortcake